Devising to do evil is the energy behind doing evil. The talent, imagination become so corrupted that allows the active mind to scheme such activities.

"Word Pictures" for Our Imagination

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Thursday, August 7th

Today's Daily Verse is found in Proverbs 24.8

" He that devises [plans] to do evil shall be called a mischievous person."

What a picture here of human depravity, actively working. It shows the corrupt fountain of ideas, talent and imagination.

We also see the end of such behavior.

Satan was the first who planned to do evil...

Psalms 36.3-4

"Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely or do good.4 They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots. Their actions are never good. They make no attempt to turn from evil."

Proverbs 24.2

"For their hearts plot violence, and their words always stir up trouble."

How does it start?

Proverbs 24.1-2

"Be not thou envious of evil men, neither desire to be with them;

2 for their heart studies destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.

The snare is to envy evil men and want to be in their company

Satan will attempt to make those who willingly get too close to him, just as evil as he is...masters of mischief

Romans 1.30

" They
were backbiters, haters of God, insolent, proud, braggarts, always
thinking of new ways of sinning and continually being disobedient to
their parents."

These are signs that Satan has been successful in contriving new modes of sinning, trickery and deceit.

Abimelech

Abimelech was a mischievous person...

Judges 9

9 One day Gideon’s son Abimelech visited his uncles—his mother’s brothers—in Shechem.

2 “Go
and talk to the leaders of Shechem,” he requested, “and ask them
whether they want to be ruled by seventy kings - Gideon’s seventy sons—or
by one man—meaning me, your own flesh and blood!”

3 So
his uncles went to the leaders of the city and proposed Abimelech’s
scheme; and they decided that since his mother was a native of their
town they would go along with it. 4 They
gave him money from the temple offerings of the idol Baal-berith, which
he used to hire some worthless loafers who agreed to do whatever he
told them to. 5 He
took them to his father’s home at Ophrah and there, upon one stone,
they slaughtered all seventy of his half brothers, except for the
youngest, Jotham, who escaped and hid. 6 Then
the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo called a meeting under the oak
beside the garrison at Shechem, and Abimelech was acclaimed king of
Israel.

7 When
Jotham heard about this, he stood at the top of Mount Gerizim and
shouted across to the men of Shechem, “If you want God’s blessing,
listen to me!

...

16 “Now
make sure that you have done the right thing in making Abimelech yourking, that you have done right by Gideon and all of his descendants. 17 For my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the Midianites, 18 yet
you have revolted against him and killed his seventy sons upon one
stone. And now you have chosen his slave girl’s son, Abimelech, to be
your king just because he is your relative. 19 If
you are sure that you have done right by Gideon and his descendants,
then may you and Abimelech have a long and happy life together. 20 But
if you have not been fair to Gideon, then may Abimelech destroy the
citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may they destroy Abimelech!”

21 Then Jotham escaped and lived in Beer for fear of his brother, Abimelech. 22-23 Three years later God stirred up trouble between King Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, and they revolted. 24 In
the events that followed, both Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem
who aided him in butchering Gideon’s seventy sons were given their just
punishment for these murders. 25 For
the men of Shechem set an ambush for Abimelech along the trail at the
top of the mountain. (While they were waiting for him to come along,
they robbed everyone else who passed that way.) But someone warned
Abimelech about their plot.

26 At that time Gaal (the son of Ebed) moved to Shechem with his brothers, and he became one of the leading citizens. 27 During
the harvest feast at Shechem that year, held in the temple of the local
god, the wine flowed freely and everyone began cursing Abimelech.

28 “Who
is Abimelech,” Gaal shouted, “and why should he be our king? Why should
we be his servants? He and his friend Zebul should be our servants. Down with Abimelech! 29 Make
me your king and you’ll soon see what happens to Abimelech! I’ll tell
Abimelech, ‘Get up an army and come on out and fight!’”

30 But when Zebul, the mayor of the city, heard what Gaal was saying, he was furious. 31 He
sent messengers to Abimelech in Arumah telling him, “Gaal, son of Ebed,
and his relatives have come to live in Shechem, and now they are
arousing the city to rebellion against you. 32 Come by night with an army and hide out in the fields; 33 and
in the morning, as soon as it is daylight, storm the city. When he and
those who are with him come out against you, you can do with them as you
wish!”

34 So Abimelech and his men marched through the night and split into four groups, stationing themselves around the city. 35 The
next morning as Gaal sat at the city gates, discussing various issues
with the local leaders, Abimelech and his men began their march upon the
city.

36 When Gaal saw them, he exclaimed to Zebul, “Look over at that mountain! Doesn’t it look like people coming down?”

“No!” Zebul said. “You’re just seeing shadows that look like men!”

37 “No,
look over there,” Gaal said. “I’m sure I see people coming toward us.
And look! There are others coming along the road past the oak of
Meonenim!”

38 Then
Zebul turned on him triumphantly. “Now where is that big mouth of
yours?” he demanded. “Who was it who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, and why
should he be our king?’ The men you taunted and cursed are right outside
the city! Go on out and fight!”

39 So Gaal led the men of Shechem into the battle and fought with Abimelech, 40 but was defeated, and many of the men of Shechem were left wounded all the way to the city gate. 41 Abimelech
was living at Arumah at this time, and Zebul drove Gaal and his
relatives out of Shechem and wouldn’t let them live there any longer.

42 The next day the men of Shechem went out to battle again. However, someone had told Abimelech about their plans, 43 so
he had divided his men into three groups hiding in the fields. And when
the men of the city went out to attack, he and his men jumped up from
their hiding places and began killing them. 44 Abimelech
stormed the city gate to keep the men of Shechem from getting back in,
while his other two groups cut them down in the fields. 45 The battle went on all day before Abimelech finally captured the city, killed its people, and leveled it to the ground. 46 The people at the nearby town of Migdal saw what was happening and took refuge in the fort next to the temple of Baal-berith.

47-48 When
Abimelech learned of this, he led his forces to Mount Zalmon where he
began chopping a bundle of firewood, and placed it upon his shoulder.
“Do as I have done,” he told his men. 49 So
each of them quickly cut a bundle and carried it back to the town
where, following Abimelech’s example, the bundles were piled against the
walls of the fort and set on fire. So all the people inside died, about
a thousand men and women.

50 Abimelech next attacked the city of Thebez, and captured it. 51 However,
there was a fort inside the city and the entire population fled into
it, barricaded the gates, and climbed to the top of the roof to watch. 52 But as Abimelech was preparing to burn it, 53 a woman on the roof threw down a millstone.It landed on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.

54 “Kill me!” he groaned to his youthful armor bearer. “Never let it be said that a woman killed Abimelech!”

So the young man pierced him with his sword, and he died. 55 When his men saw that he was dead, they disbanded and returned to their homes. 56-57 Thus
God punished both Abimelech and the men of Shechem for their sin of
murdering Gideon’s seventy sons. So the curse of Jotham, Gideon’s son,
came true.

Other examples were Jeroboam who "made Israel to sin"

1 Kings 12.26-33

"Jeroboam thought to himself, “Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. 27 When these people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the Lord, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead.”

28 So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!”

29 He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom. 30 But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there.

31 Jeroboam
also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from
the common people—those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi. 32 And Jeroboam instituted a religious festival in Bethel, held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month,
in imitation of the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah. There at
Bethel he himself offered sacrifices to the calves he had made, and he
appointed priests for the pagan shrines he had made. 33 So
on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a day that he himself had
designated, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar at Bethel. He
instituted a religious festival for Israel, and he went up to the altar
to burn incense."

15.30 "This was done because Jeroboam had provoked the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by the sins he had committed and the sins he had led Israel to commit."

Also -

Jezebel was very evil minded -

1 Kings 21.25

" No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the Lord’s sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel."

Revelations 2.20

" “But
I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that
Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She
teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols."

That's a pretty ugly assessment...

She was the face of evil scheming...

See you tomorrow...

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